Kaine 'confident' Congress will approve Syria action

By MACKENZIE WEINGER

09/01/2013 12:05 PM EDT

Sen. Tim Kaine said on Sunday he believes Congress “will rally behind the principle that use of chemical weapons is wrong, and it can't go unpunished.”

“If we have this vote, I am confident that Congress will rally behind the important principle that the use of chemical weapons, violating an international norm that’s been in place since the 1920s, is unacceptable and we need to engage in action, even military action, with international allies to stop it. So I believe when that case is made, and it's not only made to Congress but to the American public, I believe that we will rally behind the principle that use of chemical weapons is wrong, and it can't go unpunished,” the Democratic senator from Virginia said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

Kaine praised President Barack Obama's decision to come before Congress as "powerful." But, he noted, "this is a challenge."

“I have been maintaining we need to update the War Powers Act of 1973 because we've gotten sloppy in this," Kaine said.

“Presidents often over-reach, and Congress often wants to evade responsibility, evade votes, rather than accept the consequences,” Kaine said. “I think this could be a very historic and important debate, and, again, if we can reach a consensus, we will be much stronger as a nation, and the likelihood of success of our actions will be, I think, great.”